It's Official: Fox 5 To Move to Downtown Bethesda in 2021

Station intends to sign lease for space in new trophy tower on Apex site

Images showing plans for a housing and office complex at the Apex site in downtown Bethesda.

VIA MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT

Fox 5 on Monday confirmed plans to move its studio, newsroom and 200 employees into a prime location in downtown Bethesda in June 2021.

The television station will occupy about 57,500 square feet of a 290-foot office tower being built at 7272 Wisconsin Ave., the former site of the Apex building.

“This will be a state-of-the-art facility that will keep us in the heart of the Washington, D.C. metro area and allow us to better serve our community,” Patrick Paolini, Fox 5’s vice president and general manager, said in a prepared statement.

The Fox duopoly, sister stations WTTG and WDCA, have been based at 5151 Wisconsin Ave. in D.C. since 1966, according to a press release.

News of the relocation plan leaked out Friday in a report by the Washington Business Journal.

David Petr, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s president, said Monday that the county and state are offering an incentive package to Fox 5 but aren’t ready to discuss them because details are being finalized.

He said the announcement highlights the desirability of downtown Bethesda, which is also the site of Marriott International’s headquarters project.

“I think this move is going to be one more catalyst to drive our business growth in downtown Bethesda,” he said.

Petr said Fox considered multiple locations in Montgomery County and Washington, D.C. but was drawn to Bethesda because of its accessibility.

WTTG and WDCA have signed a letter of intent to occupy the Carr Properties trophy tower that is going up on Wisconsin Avenue. Carr is constructing a mixed-use development that will accommodate nearly a million square feet of office and residential space.

Bethany Rodgers can be reached at bethany.rodgers@bethesdamagazine.com.